Attorneys for Kentucky woman seeking abortion withdraw lawsuit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lawyers for a Kentucky woman who filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion have dropped the lawsuit after the woman learned her embryo has lost cardiac activity.

In a lawsuit filed Sunday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky told a judge it will “voluntarily dismiss” the lawsuit filed on Dec. 8.

Lawyers for the woman pointed to a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that said abortion providers cannot sue on behalf of their patients, limiting legal action to those seeking abortions. The lawsuit had filed for class action status.

“The court's decision has forced Kentuckians seeking abortions to file a lawsuit while they are in the midst of seeking time-sensitive health care, a daunting feat, and one that should not be necessary to protect the fundamental right to control their own bodies regain,” the ACLU said. of Kentucky said this in a press release on Monday. The lawyers said they would continue to search for potential plaintiffs.

The case – Jane Doe, et al. v. Daniel Cameron, et al. – was filed on behalf of an anonymous woman who was approximately eight weeks pregnant. Last week, just a few days after the charges were filed, lawyers sent out a message saying the embryo no longer had a heartbeat.

The wave of individual women petitioning the courts for permission to have an abortion is the latest development since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The Kentucky case resembled a legal battle that took place in Texas, where Kate Cox, a pregnant woman with a likely fatal condition, launched an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country.